B V 




F.B.Mey, 



>vcr 



8EC0N n OOPV, 
I£b9. 



& 



OtUVER- 



* JUL 101899 



A 



r *ry of Co"*; ., 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap Conyrigiit No 



Shelf.... 



imeht No. 



as- 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



I PROMISE 




REV. F. B. MEYER. 



I Promise 



Rev. 



Bl^Meyer, B. A. 




Author of " Saved and Kept," " Light 
on Life's Duties," " The Shep- 
herd Psalm," "Christian 
Living," etc. 





(\git.1, 




o 




m 


H 




a 


^1 




r 


r 




rn 


UL 




ph 


% 


^P 


P 



United Society of Christian Endeavor 
Boston and Chicago 



i fii 



The Library 

OF CONttk&gg 

WASHINGTON 



k -u 



-V xA 



PC 



38189 

Copyright, i8gg 

BY THE 

United Society of Christian Endeavor 






! 



OF ^ 

1899 

er of Go 






Colonial Press : 
ElectrotyPed and Printed by 
C. H. Simonds &* Co. 
Boston, Mass., U. S. A, 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPT 

I. 


ER 

Salvation and Trust . 


PAGE 

• 9 


II. 


Winning God's Attention 


. 18 


III. 


God Speaking 


25 


IV. 


"What Would Jesus Do?" 


34 


V. 


Our Duty .... 


42 


VI. 


Conscience . 


5i 



INTRODUCTION. 

I am exceedingly glad that Rev. F. B. 
Meyer, has given this little volume to the 
public. I feel that so far as Christian En- 
deavorers are concerned his pen could not 
possibly have found employment upon a 
more important theme, and I am equally 
confident that there is no one whose wise 
and winning words will be listened to more 
eagerly, or heeded more willingly. The man 
and the theme have been united in a most 
happy way, and the result is a little volume 
of exceeding value. The prayer-meeting 
Covenant Pledge is the mainstay of Christian 
Endeavor. It is to Christian Endeavorers 
what Magna Charta was to British liberty, 
what the Constitution of the United States 
is to the American patriot, what the May- 
flower compact was to the Puritans, what 
the National Covenant was to the Covenant- 
ers. The societies that adopt and live up to 
the covenant pledge with reasonable fidelity 

vii 



viii INTRODUCTION. 

have always prospered. No society that has 
ignored or weakened the pledge has long 
continued to do a conspicuously good work. 
Whatever theories or prejudices may exist 
concerning it, the facts of the history of the 
eighteen years of Christian Endeavor are all 
on the side of the Christian Endeavor pledge. 
To have this fundamental feature of Chris- 
tian Endeavor expounded, explained, and 
illuminated by such an author, is indeed a 
boon to the Christian Endeavor world. I 
trust that this little volume will be read by 
hundreds of thousands of Christian Endeavor- 
ers, that those who are faithful and true will 
be strengthened in their fidelity, that any 
who are weak and wavering may be braced 
by these chapters to new and more strenuous 
endeavor, and that all, as they see the reason- 
ableness, scripturalness, and absolute neces- 
sity of our covenant pledge to our best 
endeavor, will with renewed zeal, trusting 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, go forward in his 
strength to do whatever he would like to 
have them do. Francis E. Clark. 

Boston, April, z8pp. 



I PROMISE. 



SALVATION AND TRUST. 

"Relying on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation." 

How grateful these words must be 
to our Master, Christ, as they are said 
week by week by hundreds of thou- 
sands of young lips ! It seems as if 
there were a murmur of such words 
always rising from the world like sweet 
incense, which must do something to 
counterbalance the hoarse sounds of 
blasphemy and rejection. At times, 

9 



IO / PROMISE. 

of course, the murmur becomes a great 
shout, when there gathers a conven- 
tion of Christian Endeavorers in their 
tens of thousands. But probably there 
is not a single minute in any part of 
the twenty-four hours in which some 
voice or voices are not professing reli- 
ance on the Lord Jesus Christ for sal- 
vation. He is crowned with many 
crowns ; to him multitudes of knees 
are bowing, and tongues confessing 
that he is Lord to the glory of God 
the Father. 

Personally, I greatly rejoice in the 
distinction which is made between reli- 
ance on Christ for salvation, and the 
trust for daily strength to live a godly 
and a righteous life. It reminds one 
of the distinction of the Psalmist, who 
said, " The Lord is my light and my 
salvation, whom shall I fear ? The 
Lord is the strength of my life, of 



SALVATION AND TRUST. \\ 

whom shall I be afraid ? ' Salvation 
deals with our deliverance from the 
power of sin, which would check and 
hinder our fellowship with God, whilst 
trust for daily strength looks toward 
the positive side of Christian living, in 
virtue of which we are able to do great 
exploits for God in the world. We are 
saved that we may serve, but salvation 
is one thing and service another. 

For Salvation. — " Salvation " is a 
great word. It is conjugated in three 
tenses. There is the past tense, " we are 
saved " ; at the moment when we first 
trusted Christ. Saved from the wrath of 
God; saved from the curse of a broken 
law ; saved from the consequences of 
being born from a sinful race, and hav- 
ing committed many grievous sins 
against God. This salvation is a dis- 
tinct and definite matter, which is ours 
at the moment we exercise simple faith 



12 / PROMISE, 

in Jesus. " Being, therefore, justified by 
his blood, we shall be saved from the 
wrath of God through him." 

There is the present tense of salva- 
tion. To us who "are being saved," 
Christ is the power of God. The 
Lord added to the church daily cc those 
that were being saved." Such is the 
accurate rendering of i Cor. i : 18, and 
Acts 2 : 47. We are being saved per- 
petually from the love and power of 
sin. The disinfectant of Christ's pres- 
ence is ever warding off the germs of 
deadly temptation. The mighty arm 
of the divine Keeper is always holding 
the door against the attempts of the 
adversary. The water is always flowing 
over the eye to remove the least grit or 
mote that may alight. " We are being 
saved by his life." 

There is the future tense. He will 
appear a second time without sin unto 



SALVATION AND TRUST. 



13 



salvation. We are being kept by the 
power of God unto a salvation which 
waits to be revealed in all its majesty 
and fulness in the last time. Much as 
Jesus can do for his saints in this life, 
there is a point beyond which even his 
love and power cannot go, since they 
must bear about with them the body 
of their humiliation, which will finally, 
unless he come first, return to its dust. 
Salvation in all its completeness can, 
therefore, only be secured when at his 
coming, though we were dead, yet shall 
we live, and those that live and believe 
in him shall never die. 

Is not " salvation " a great word ? It 
includes the forgiveness that remembers 
sin no more ; deliverance from the curse 
and penalty of our evil ways; emanci- 
pation from the thrall of evil habit ; the 
elimination and destruction of self-love; 
the gradual refinement and elevation of 



14 I PROMISE. 

the tastes of the soul ; its growing con- 
formity to the image of Christ ; and the 
final resurrection of the body in spirit- 
ual beauty and energy, to be forever the 
companion and vehicle of the redeemed 
spirit. 

Relying. — This is a personal word. 
It implies that there has been some 
kind of contact between spirit and 
spirit, person and person, the client 
and the patron, the friend and the 
friend, the sinner and the Saviour. 
There is a great distinction between 
believing about Christ and believing 
in him. The devils have the former, 
and tremble ; redeemed sinners the lat- 
ter, and are at rest. 

In reliance there are three steps. 
First, we must know something about 
the person in question. Secondly, we 
must put our case definitely into his 
hand, and believe that he undertakes. 



SALVATION AND TRUST. \$ 

Thirdly, we must go on our way, re- 
fusing to entertain any suggestion to 
doubt, because we can so absolutely 
leave this matter with Him into whose 
hands we have committed it. " I know 
whom I have believed, and am per- 
suaded that he is able." 

How simple it would be for any 
doubting and distressed soul to take 
these three steps forthwith ! It need 
not take longer than five minutes to 
perform the definite act of submission 
and faith, and so enter into a relation- 
ship with Christ, which, when once es- 
tablished, will defy the gnawing tooth 
of time, the most virulent hatred of the 
pit. 

But, in order to enjoy the fulness of 
Christ's saving grace, it is necessary to 
take him in each of the three aspects 
denoted by the terms applied to him in 
this opening clause of our pledge. 



1 6 / PROMISE. 

There must be the human aspect \ — 
Jesus. — The name the angel gave 
him, by which Mary and the Nazareth 
home-circle knew him. The name that 
represents his boyhood, manhood, suf- 
ferings, sympathies, love, and tears. We 
must know him as such, for it is through 
the human that we must come to the 
divine. The ladder that touches heaven 
must rest on earth. 

There must be the divine aspect, — 
Lord. — If he be no more than human, 
we are of all men most miserable. Only 
God's sorrow can atone for sin ; only 
God's succor can avail to save ; only if 
he be God can he be excused from the 
charge of arrogant blasphemy when he 
made himself God's equal. 

'There must be the royal aspect, — 
Christ. — The Messiah, the King of 
glory, the Anointed of the Father, the 
absolute Lord and Monarch of our 



SALVATION AND TRUST. 



*7 



lives. He must be this, for only if 
thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
Jesus as Lord, shalt thou be saved. 
(Rom. 10: 9.) 



II 



WINNING GOD'S ATTENTION. 



" To pray to him 



>> 



I think, young people, that I under- 
stand a little better than formerly what 
it is to pray. Of course we are all little 
children, feeling our way gradually into 
the heart of the great mysteries of earth 
and heaven. The best of us know but 
little as we ought and shall. 

There is an experience which many 
of us are passing through, or have 
passed through, in which we think 
that we shall be heard for our much 
asking, our intensity, the passionate 
vehemence with which we press our 
prayers on God. There is some justi- 
fication for such a conception, of prayer 

18 



WINNING GOD'S ATTENTION 



19 



when we read the words of our Lord 
about the violent taking the kingdom 
of heaven by force, and of the apostle 
who tells us that God does exceedingly 
abundantly according to the power that 
worketh in us. 

But there is another aspect of prayer 
which seems to precede that, and with- 
out which the one just described is 
mistaken and harmful. 

Permit me to speak of it in the first 
person. When I kneel before God 
and say, " Father," it seems as if the 
entire nature of God were instantly on 
the alert, and quick to catch the next 
words. It is good to say, "Father"; 
better to say, " my Father " ; best to say, 
" our Father." In the latter we embrace 
all our brethren and sisters throughout 
the world ; and, above all, enter his 
holy presence in company with the Son 
of his love, our Brother and Saviour 



20 / PROMISE. 

and Lord. But is it not wonderful 
that, just as the least whisper of her 
name will bring the mother to her 
child's side, so the tiniest whisper of 
the word " Father ' awakens the in- 
stant interest and audience of Him who 
was before time, and shall be after it, 
who fills the whole of space as his 
temple and home? 

What a wonderful thing it is to at- 
tract the attention and enchain the 
interest of God, so much so, with such 
absorbing interest, that for the time it 
is as if he had nothing else to do than 
just listen to the sorrowful complaints 
or the eager entreaties of his child ! 

But, if this is so, how great must be 
the disappointment we cause him when 
we begin to say over to him words 
which we have learned by rote through 
constant repetition, which were once the 
mould of burning thoughts, but from 



WINNING GOD'S ATTENTION 21 

which all glow has long since vanished ! 
From such prayers, so formal, so heart- 
less, so destitute of any right apprecia- 
tion of the greatness of our opportunity, 
the divine nature must often turn aside 
(if a very anthropomorphic phrase may 
be permitted) sick at heart. 

Equally disappointing it must be 
when the suppliant uses the precious 
moments of prayer as an opportunity 
for pouring into the ear of God a string 
of petitions for personal comfort and 
emolument, never staying to utter one 
word of reverent and loving devotion. 
In human intercourse it is not custom- 
ary to use every moment in trying to 
elicit as much help as possible from our 
friend. The most selfish will say some 
kind words of greeting, or make some 
personal inquiries, before launching out 
on the errand which has brought about 
the interview. But how often do we 



22 / PROMISE. 

rush into God's presence and pour a 
string of entreaties into his ear without 
one word of filial greeting and loving 
appreciation ! 

Whilst we are praying we are often 
thinking about our business or pleas- 
ure, and wishing to be gone ; nothing 
but a sense of propriety keeps us. 
Often it would be almost better not 
to pray at all than pray as we do, as 
a sop to conscience, a piece of perfunc- 
tory duty. 

As one reviews one's prayer life, one 
is perfectly horrified and ashamed of 
the way one has made God suffer, or, 
to use the Bible phrase, grieved his 
Holy Spirit by the sins of one's pray- 
ers. How greatly must angels wonder 
to see the way in which we abuse the 
greatest privilege within our reach, for 
in the whole range of our life there 
cannot be a higher act than to enter 



WINNING GOD'S ATTENTION 23 

into the presence of God our Father, 
and to speak to him simply and natu- 
rally about anything we need. 

Too often we condone our failures, 
or attempt to, by mentioning at the 
end of the prayer, like a cabalistic 
formulary, " For Jesus Christ's sake," 
as if that fulfilled the condition of 
prayer in the nature of Christ, which 
is tantamount to Christ's nature pray- 
ing through us. 

How often, therefore, missing the 
point of the injunction to pray in 
Christ's name, we pour a pile of 
prayers into the divine nature, much 
as an applicant for charity will pour 
a sackful of circulars into the letter- 
box, hoping that some may bring a 
response, but not counting on more 
than, say, one in ten. 

All this is mistaken, and will be cor- 
rected if you remember that your first 



*4 



/ PROMISE. 



cry, " Father," attracts instantly the 
notice and attention of God. You will 
recollect yourself before you rush into 
his presence, considering what you are 
going for and what you shall ask. You 
will order your petitions aright. You 
will let the nature of Christ assert itself 
in and through the Holy Spirit. You 
will preface your prayers by a few words 
of thanksgiving and appreciation, which 
will probably become more extended as 
the years pass and you know more of 
God. You will talk to him in the sim- 
plest and most artless style, not with 
clamor and strife. He may lead you 
on to the pouring out of soul and the 
vehemence of an unrestrainable desire ; 
but, if not, you will realize that the 
merest appeal to the divine nature will 
bring a marvellous response, as scratch- 
ing a tropical soil secures a prolific 
harvest. 



III. 

GOD SPEAKING. 

"And read the Bible every day." 

That is indispensable. Indeed, I 
have often said, and always felt, that, 
if the time is so limited that we are 
obliged to shorten one or the other, it 
is every way wiser and better to curtail 
our prayer, in which we speak to God, 
than our Bible reading, in which God 
speaks to us. 

It does not matter so much what 
method you adopt in your Bible read- 
ing; but it is all-important that you 
should enter into your closet and shut 
your door, and read the Bible thought- 

25 - 



<l6 I PROMISE. 

fully, reverently, devotionally ; that 
through the words you may feed on 
the Word, and extract for yourself 
that living virtue which has passed 
into their texture from the Spirit of 
God. 

Forgive me, but I greatly question 
whether all the helps which are given 
nowadays so profusely to assist us in 
the study of Scripture really help us as 
much as we suppose. Of course, it 
is perfectly right to get all the in- 
formation possible about the geography, 
manuscripts, botany, and contempo- 
raneous history of the Bible ; but a 
man may have all this, and yet miss 
the vital principle on which alone the 
spirit's life can be nurtured. Not for 
a moment would I dissuade you from 
obtaining such information, but I would 
warn you against supposing that it nat- 
urally carries with it, and implies, a 



GOD SPEAKING. 2J 

right use of the word of God; and 
also against spending in such studies 
the precious minutes, which are as 
much as you can spare in the early 
morning. 

It is often stated that many Chris- 
tians rarely open the Bible in the morn- 
ing watch ; they drop on their knees 
for a few moments before hurrying off 
for the duties of the day, but carry no 
word of light and strength for the day's 
needs. It is said that a large number 
of others are content to catch up a text- 
book, and rapidly scan over a few verses, 
which are forgotten almost as soon as 
read. It seems difficult to believe such 
statements, and it is to be hoped that 
they are greatly exaggerated. But some 
color of truth is given to them by the 
ease with which many amongst us are 
overcome by the insidious errors of the 
present day. Nothing would do more 



28 / PROMISE. 

to rebut the infidelity and reliance on 
mere outward rites, which are blighting 
our English Protestantism, so much as 
a revival of Bible love, Bible reading, 
and Bible memorizing. 

The rules for Bible reading are as 
follows : 

i . Read consecutively ; the Old Testa- 
ment at one time of the day, the New at 
another; this will enable you to read 
the New twice and more to one reading 
of the Old. 

2. Use the references. For this pur- 
pose I like to use two Bibles, one to 
lie open with the margin well filled with 
references, to which I turn in the smaller 
pocket Bible which I hold in my hand. 
All I know of the Bible is based on the 
use of marginal references. 

3 . Be more careful to read a few verses 
deeply than to skim two or three chap- 
ters. There are times, of course, when 



GOD SPEAKING. 29 

we pass rapidly over whole tracts of 
Scripture to discover the lay of the 
landscape, and the direction of the 
main thoroughfares- But for devo- 
tional reading, a little, thoroughly mas- 
ticated and digested, is to be preferred 
to a large amount bolted. The artist 
who confines himself to one tiny bit of 
scenery probably enjoys himself best, 
and extracts most thorough instruction 
and inspiration from what he sees. 

4. Be thankful if the morning and even- 
ing study crystallizes about some theme. 
Often it will be so. As you quietly 
muse on some verse or paragraph be- 
neath the teaching of the Holy Spirit, 
you will find kindred passages suggested 
to your mind where the same thought 
occurs under slightly different forms ; 
and these will lead to more ; and as 
you close the Book you will find your 
mind rewarded by one mastering theme. 



3o 



/ PROMISE. 



Be very thankful for this, although it 
may have led you far away from the 
original chapter, and interfered with 
your reading as much as usual. 

5. Have your fen at hand, that you 
may note such references as occur to 
you in the margin, and that you may 
be able to indicate any passage which 
has shone out like a star to your soul. 
I think I could tell the history of my 
life in a series of verses, selected from 
every part of the sacred Book, which 
have been my beacon-lights all along 
its course. 

As we approach the study of the 
Bible, there should be a reverent bow- 
ing down of the soul on the threshold 
of the temple of Scripture ; a putting 
off of the shoes from our feet ; a cleans- 
ing ourselves of all filthiness of the 
flesh and spirit; a deep and hallowed 
consciousness of the presence of God ; 



GOD SPEAKING. 



31 



a simple, childlike, humble, and obedient 
spirit, which listens with hushed awe, 
like the child Samuel in the sanctuary 
of old, for the accents of the voice of 
God. 

Souls that love most deeply most 
truly understand love. Pure eyes 
carry with them the flames of fire by 
which they see. Spirit recognizes and 
reads spirit. Those who are most de- 
vout, most like the saintly souls through 
whom the voice of God spake, will be 
best able to understand and interpret 
the yearnings of desire, the paeans of 
triumph, the wailings of disappointed 
hope, which fill the pages of Scripture 
with their various and abundant expres- 
sion. 

Above all, we must obey. We must 
not be satisfied with looking into the 
perfect law ; we must continue therein. 
It is not the hearer that forgetteth, but 



3* 



I PROMISE. 



the doer that worketh, who is blessed 
in his doing. God's Spirit tests us by 
revealing truth. If we obey, he reveals 
more. If we refuse, he takes from us 
what we know. The accumulation of 
neglected commands gathers over our 
eyes as scales. From the morasses 
and swamps of our disobedience the 
mists arise that obscure the blue sky 
above and the everlasting hills. 

We should never open our Bibles 
without first lifting up our hearts to the 
gracious Spirit by whose inspiration and 
movement holy men were led to write. 
Heartfelt ejaculatory prayer to him will 
unlock treasures which all the diction- 
aries and helps in creation could never 
reach. Beneath his touch rocks will 
yield water, blank pages become cov- 
ered with lettering, fountains arise 
where before the whole tract seemed 
sere and barren. The deep things of 



GOD SPEAKING. 



33 



God are revealed to those only who 
have received the Spirit which is of God. 
Two good rules each morning, to 
finish with : Never speak to man till 
you have spoken to God ; never read 
a line of mah's books till you have read 
God's Book. 



IV. 

"WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?' 
" To lead a Christian life" 

It is no small matter that we prom- 
ise when we repeat these words. The 
word " Christian " is Greek in an Eng- 
lish dress, and to understand it we must 
go back to old Antioch, on the Orontes, 
whose witty, volatile people, arrested by 
the increasing number of disciples, and 
anxious to label them, called them after 
the name that was most often on their 
lips. They were always talking about 
Jesus Christ, who had been crucified 
under Pilate, but who, these people 
asserted, was living still as their Prince 

34 



"WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" 35 

and Saviour. His name was heard so 
often from those who were becoming a 
real power in the gay city, that it sug- 
gested their appellation, " Christian. " 

Of course, "Christ" means "an- 
ointed/' and " Christians " should mean 
" anointed ones," those on whom the 
chrism of the Holy Spirit has been 
poured — the holy anointing oil, which 
was bestowed on Jesus at his baptism 
constituting him the Christ, and ena- 
bling him to preach the gospel to the 
poor, to bind up the broken-hearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and 
the opening of the prison to them that 
were bound. O that we might be 
anointed as he was, and by his hand, 
that we might go forth to continue his 
work in the world until he come ! 

But, after all, to live a Christian life 
implies that we should walk as he 
walked, and be in all things a sweet 



%6 I PROMISE. 

savor of Christ, so that as our lives 
are scrutinized they might have the 
effect of recalling Christ, as a sweet 
scent will recall the person or place 
with which we first associated it. 

I suppose there is no question that 
should be more often on our hearts 
than the inquiry, " What would Jesus 
do ? " And there is none which, if 
properly answered, would sooner secure 
the Christian life, for which, in our best 
hours, we so eagerly yearn. Would 
you live a true Christian life, then let 
this be the line and plummet by which 
you test every bit of masonry that you 
build into the structure of your charac- 
ter : " What would Jesus do ? " Not, 
" What is c good form ' ? " not, " What 
will secure recognition and advance- 
ment ? " not, " What will curry favor 
with the wealthy and influential ? " but 
always and everywhere, " Would Jesus 



" WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" 37 

do this if he were here ? What would 
Jesus do ? " 

A story-book with this question as 
its theme is having a large circulation 
on each side of the Atlantic. I am told 
that a well-known minister has disposed 
of four hundred copies in his church, 
and that a revival has been the result 
of an extensive reading of its pages by 
his leading people. Here are some 
incidents : - — 

The newspaper proprietor cuts out 
all puffing advertisements, and several 
items, such as the police-court and 
divorce proceedings, the gambling and 
betting news, the obscene and unhealthy 
elements which had helped to give his 
paper a wide circulation among certain 
classes, because they would not stand 
the test of the question, " What would 
Jesus do ? " 

The girl who was training her voice 



38 / PROMISE. 

for the opera feels that henceforth it 
must be used for Jesus, and goes down 
to a low part of the town to sing the 
gospel, till the melody of her voice 
charms a pandemonium into a congre- 
gation, and transforms in time a moral 
desert into paradise ; and all because 
she resolved that she would be gov- 
erned by the one inquiry, " What 
would Jesus do ? " 

A manufacturer begins to care for his 
employees, whom he formerly regarded 
as so many machines for the produc- 
tion of his wealth, giving them a share 
in the profits, and manifesting a living 
interest in their well-being; and all 
because of the magic potency of the 
inquiry, " What would Jesus do ? ' 

Necessarily the entire town becomes 
transformed. It is, of course, a fancy 
picture. No community of people is 
to be found that literally obeys Christ's 



"WHAT WOULD JESUS BO?" 39 

precepts, though for these many cen- 
turies the church has taught us to ex- 
pect that if we reflect as in a glass 
the glory of the Lord, we shall be 
changed into his image from glory to 
glory. 

To lead a Christian life, then, de- 
mands that we shall act in a way that 
is becoming to the gospel we profess ; 
so that it shall not be brought into dis- 
repute, or people feel that we are not 
worthy of Him whose name we bear. 
We must maintain the honor of the 
household. We must walk worthily 
of Him who has called us out of dark- 
ness into his marvellous light. 

Of course this demands incessant 
watchfulness, both in what we avoid 
and in what we do. To take a simple 
illustration from my own life. I am 
obliged to use cabs pretty freely to save 
valuable time, and at the end of the ride 



4° 



/ PROMISE. 



there is, of course, the question of pay- 
ment ; and one of two courses may be 
followed, Either you may give the 
exact fare, or you may add a little 
extra, say sixpence, in recognition of 
the many demands which must be met 
by your driver before he can take his 
earnings home. The first is just, the 
second generous. The latter is my 
general rule, because my clerical garb 
suggests that I am a servant of Jesus 
Christ, and I am bound to keep up the 
honor of the family. Forgive this 
egotism ; my one desire is to show 
how at every moment when two courses 
offer themselves we are bound to take 
that which we think Jesus would have 
taken, and to do those things which 
will make people think most highly of 
his kingdom. 

Of course, this is not the popular 
side. It will often involve us in a 



" WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" 4 1 

touch of the dislike and persecution 
and cross-bearing which ultimately led 
to his death ; but through all this we may 
glorify him. " If any man suffer as a 
Christian, let him not be ashamed, but 
glorify God on this behalf/' If they 
have called the master of the house 
Beelzebub, how much more them of 
his household ? 

Do you shrink from living this life 
because of its cost ? Then remember 
that no soldier goes to the warfare at 
his own charges. Our Father will 
enable us to maintain a life which 
will honor and glorify him ; just as 
the government will find all that is 
necessary to enable its representatives 
to live as they ought in some foreign 
court. " God is able to make all grace 
abound, that ye, having all sufficiency 
in all things, may abound to every 
good work." 



OUR DUTY. 
" I promise to be true to all my duties ." 

It is well to inquire what those du- 
ties may be before making this solemn 
pledge ; for it is impossible to bind our- 
selves thus, and violate our promise, 
without suffering moral injury. Better 
never to make this promise than make 
to break it. And in assuming new du- 
ties it would be well to consider them 
in the light of these words, for if we 
cannot be true to them it is undesirable 
to undertake them ; first, because we 

may shut out of office some one who 

42 



OUR DUTY, 43 

could do them ; and second, because 
infidelity to trust is apt to grow with 
insidious but rapid strides from less to 
more. 

The methodical and faithful fulfil- 
ment of the simple duties which are 
demanded of most Endeavorers is more 
important than the most of us suppose, 
as will appear in the light of the follow- 
ing considerations. 

Employers of labor are always on 
the outlook for likely young men and 
women who give promise of suitability 
for advancement to positions of trust. 
Great businesses are carried on, not by 
the millionaire who finances, or the or- 
ganizer who assigns the various posts, 
but by the great mass of the rank and file 
and the more promising spirits who are 
appointed to positions of trust. It is not 
the general who wins the battle, but the 
soldiers ; and success is largely depend- 



44 * PROMISE. 

ent on the subaltern officers and the 
faithfulness with which they have drilled 
their men when in barracks. 

But no shrewd capitalist or manu- 
facturer will take one from the ranks, 
and put him over others, unless he has 
approved himself of faithfulness to some 
minor duties that may have devolyed 
upon him. Supposing a man is con- 
stantly absent from his place, or comes 
to it after the bell has ceased ringing, 
or injures his tools, or spoils the mate- 
rials given out to him — is it likely that 
he will be placed over his fellow work- 
men ? Supposing a lad is always idling 
and loitering, and doing his work in 
a perfunctory and superficial manner, 
careless so long as he just escapes cen- 
sure, keen on his own interests, indif- 
ferent to his master's — is it probable 
that he will be promoted to a position 
of greater responsibility ? He that is 



OUR DUTY. 



45 



unfaithful in what is least will be un- 
faithful in much. 

It would be folly to give the oppor- 
tunity of repeating on a large scale the 
incompetence and wastefulness which 
are only too patent on the small. How 
little do men and lads realize that their 
every act is being scrutinized with ref- 
erence to their future ! They do not 
know what is in the mind of their em- 
ployer, or how some ill-considered trifle 
may mar their entire career. 

It is he who is true to his duties in 
the least who is presently promoted to 
the opportunity of being true in the 
greatest. He that is faithful in the least 
is faithful also in much. The lad who 
cared for the sheep, and delivered them 
from lion and bear, was made ruler and 
shepherd of Israel. And Paul, who 
flinched not from witness-bearing among 
his own people, was summoned to stand 



46 / PROMISE, 

in Caesar's pillared hall where all the 
Gentiles might hear. 

How little we realize the attention 
with which God regards us ! Not as 
a Judge, but as a Father ; and yet with 
full cognizance of the great possibilities 
of our lives. He allows us to begin in 
some small sphere in which the duties 
seem commonplace and trying, such as 
standing at the door to open and close 
it, or giving out hymn-books, or sitting 
on some committee. It is not what we 
do, but the way in which we do it, that 
reveals our true character. If we say 
that it is too trifling to be worthy of 
our notice, if we slur the work over or 
neglect it, if we allow ourselves to be 
eaten up with jealousy of others, and 
ambition to attract attention, if we are 
unfaithful and untrue, we show our- 
selves unfit to assume the great bur- 
dens which God lays on elect spirits ; 



OUR DUTY. 47 

and we induce in ourselves habits and 
conceptions of life and duty which are 
entirely foreign to the reposing of heav- 
ier confidences. Do you think that 
God could have said of Abraham, " I 
know him that he will command his 
children after him/' unless there had 
been some indubitable signs, on Abra- 
ham's part, of absolute loyalty and 
trustworthiness ? 

I think that Sunday-school teachers, 
and Christian Endeavorers, and all 
whose destiny is as yet unfixed, would 
be much more accurate and careful, 
more painstaking and punctual, more 
persistent and persevering, if they real- 
ized that the great crises of their lives 
were being settled amid the obscurity 
and simplicity of their first and earliest 
duties. The young life takes on its 
color and direction in its first start. 

There is this further thought. We 



48 / PROMISE. 

are all apt to do our best on great occa- 
sions when the world is staring at us, 
and to be careless enough when there 
is no special stimulus of excitement and 
expectation. Most of us ministers, for 
instance, will preach great sermons on 
great occasions, but think that anything 
will do for the few poor people who 
gather to a cottage meeting. But surely 
the cottage meeting, rather than the 
great occasion, reveals what we really 
are. It is not what a girl is when the 
house is full of friends, but when, in 
the gray morning, she is late at the 
breakfast-table, and irritable to the 
younger children, that shows her true 
self. It is not what we do on the oc- 
casion of the anniversary of our society, 
but what we are on wintry and rainy 
nights when the attendance is scant, 
that really tests us. It is the way in 
which we fulfil the least duties which 



OUR DUTY. 49 

manifests us best. Any one can be 
a martyr when the blood is stirred by 
the expectation of myriads, but the true 
martyr spirit burns brightest where the 
young soul suffers day by day the in- 
sults of an obscure office humbly and 
uncomplainingly. 

If we would be really true to all our 
duties we must abide in Him who is 
the truth. He will deliver us from 
eye-service and insincerity ; from time- 
serving and place-seeking ; from super- 
ficiality and obsequiousness. Putting 
away lying and hypocrisy, he will en- 
able us to speak and act truly. 

We must, moreover, perform all our 
duties for him, seeking his approval 
and blessing, and remembering that he 
gladly accepts the most trivial service 
if it is done with an eye to his cc Well 
done." Thus all life may become 
great, because actuated by great mo- 



5<0 / PROMISE. 

tives. There is nothing common or 
unclean in itself unless the motives that 
prompt our behavior are so. If we are 
always inspired by high and lofty aims, 
we lift the lowest and meanest duties to 
the level of those aims. To receive a 
prophet in the name of a prophet is to 
win a prophet's reward ; to give a cup 
of cold water in the name of Christ is 
to secure the smile that makes heaven's 
day. 



VI. 

CONSCIENCE. 

"Some reason which I can conscientiously give." 

Conscience holds the mirror to the 
inner life, and shows us just what we 
are in the light of God's infinite purity 
and righteousness. The word itself is 
derived from the Latin, con, with ; scio, 
to know. Conscience is what a man 
knows with or against himself. 

Sometimes we meet ourselves with 
a smile ; this is what we know as a good 
conscience. At other times we do not 
like to meet ourselves, but avert our 
faces, and hide our eyes ; this is the 
case of a bad conscience. And the 

S 1 



5 2 



/ PROMISE, 



worst, or the best, is, that we cannot 
deceive ourselves, or hoodwink con- 
science. We know, and we know that 
we know, that this is right and that 
wrong, this good and that evil. Con- 
cerning the expediency or inexpediency, 
the wisdom or unwisdom, of a course, 
conscience is silent : this is not her 
province ; these causes must be settled 
in the other courts of the soul. But 
whenever the question is raised of the 
Tightness or wrongness of any course 
of action, or train of thought, conscience 
arises, and speaks authoritatively and 
decisively, pronouncing, as with the 
voice of God, an irrevocable judgment. 
It is very necessary to keep on good 
terms with your conscience. Conscience 
is an ill bedfellow, the old proverb says ; 
and when troubled with evil dreams, 
turning, tossing, and starting, rest is 
impossible. We do not wonder, there- 



CONSCIENCE. 53 

fore, that the apostle made it his aim to 
preserve a conscience void of offence 
toward God and man. 

There is an element in Christian 
living which does not enter into the 
ethical code of others. All men have 
a conscience ; else God could not judge 
them. There would be no standard 
by which to try or convict. But in 
most cases conscience is uninstructed*. 
It judges rightly, so far as it knows ; 
but its knowledge is scant, and its 
power of making accurate distinctions 
is limited. The Christian conscience 
is illumined and instructed by the light 
that falls on it from the face of Christ. 
Apart from Christ, it is like a diamond 
or crystal in the twilight; with Christ 
it is a jewel bathed and saturated in an 
ocean of sunlight. See to it that your 
conscience is constantly corrected by 
Christ's words and life, so that its stand- 



54 



/ PROMISE. 



ax<\ may be raised, and its power of 
judging between things that differ may 
become more acute and accurate. 

When, therefore, we Christian En- 
deavorers say, in the latter part of our 
pledge, that we will take some part, 
aside from singing, in every meeting; 
and that we will be present at every 
meeting, unless hindered by a reason 
which we can conscientiously give to our 
Lord and Master ', we are binding our- 
selves to abide by the decision of ths 
most august tribunal possible. We 
pledge ourselves to judge ourselves. 
But that " we " is our true self, oui 
best self, our God-taught self: nay v 
more and better, it is the voice of God 
within us; it is the echo of the judg- 
ment which the Son of God is passing 
upon us, and will utter audibly one day 
from his judgment-seat, when we give 
in our account. 



CONSCIENCE. 



S5 



There will be times in our experi- 
ence when conscience will refuse to 
receive the excuse that we give for 
omitting our attendance. It will win- 
now away the chaff of vain excuse ; it 
will cast a searching shaft of light on our 
evasions and subterfuges ; it will dis- 
miss our apologies with scorn. It will 
be useless to argue that absence from 
a meeting cannot constitute a sin, be- 
cause it will instantly insist that there 
was no necessity to assume this pledge ; 
but, as it has been deliberately adopted, 
it must be accurately observed, until 
there has been a disavowal of it as 
public as was the original profession. 

If the weather is wet and stormy, if 
the fireside party be attractive, if some 
favorite author solicits, we dare not yield, 
lest we be unable to meet the calm, 
clear gaze of conscience searching us. 
Or if we yield and sink back into the 



5 6 / PROMISE. 

arms of ease, we shall spend a miserable 
hour of bitter reproach and contro- 
versy, our Eden will have vanished and 
become a wild desert, and we shall ex- 
perience the gnawings of the worm. 
From the confusion and self-reproach 
of such a time we shall never wish to 
be absolved till we have obtained for- 
giveness from our Master, and have 
made an up-and-down confession to 
at least the leader of our society. 

It is impossible to overestimate the 
importance of frank confession of fail- 
ure when it concerns others as well as 
ourselves. We are bidden to confess 
our faults, not to a priest, but to one 
another. And whilst confession is with- 
held, it is clear that not all the black 
poison is purged from our system. 

Never tamper with conscience, nor 
gag her protestations, nor drown her 
voice. Never say it does not matter 



CONSCIENCE. 



SI 



for once in a way. Never slur over her 
reproof, never dare to let her voice wear 
itself out. To behave thus is to tamper 
with the most delicate moral machinery 
in the universe. Obeyed, it may con- 
duct to the highest realms of bliss ; dis- 
owned and dishonored, it will land you 
in the bottomless pit. 



THE END, 



THE SURRENDERED LIFE 

Quiet Hour Meditations 

BY 

REV, h WILBUR CHAPMAN, D. D. 

AUTHOR OF 

44 And Peter," " Received Ye the Holy 
Ghost? " etc* 

" A little book, ' The Surrendered Life : Quiet Hour 
Meditations,' by the Rev. J. W. Chapman, D. D., inculcates 
the lesson of thoroughgoing and loyal fellowship with Christ. 
That it specially addresses young people makes it the more 
necessary to qualify its teaching that * it is not a good thing 
for one to make plans for his own life,' but rather to find 
God's plan for us and follow it. It is only by endeavor to 
find out what we can best do, and trying to do it, that we find 
out what God would have us to do." — The Outlook. 

Daintily bound in cloth. Price, jo cents, postpaid. 
UNITED SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR, 



Tremont Temple, 
Boston, Mass. 



155 La Salle St, 
Chicago, Ills* 



Recent Publications* 

A Daily Message for Christian Endeavorers, By Mrs. 

Francis E. Clark. With introduction by Dr. Clark. 
Beautifully illustrated. Boxed. 384 pages. Price, only 
$1.00. 

This is a book for the Quiet Hour, the Prayer Meeting, and the Birthday. 
It is three books in one. There is a page for every day in the year, filled 
with the choicest thoughts of the best writers, that will enrich and deepen 
the spiritual life of every reader. The collection is the result of years of 
careful reading, and most of the selections will be found peculiarly appro- 
priate for use in prayer meetings. The index of subjects will enable one to 
find choice quotations on almost any topic. A new feature in books of this 
kind is the place for birthday entries, space being given under every day in 
the year. The choicest gift-book of the year. 

The Morning Watch. Or Thoughts for the Quiet Hour. 

By Belle M. Brain. Cloth. Beautifully illustrated. 

Boxed. 414 pages. Price, $1.00. 

Here are 366 diamonds of the rarest color and brilliancy, gems from the 
heart and brain and hand of the saints of God of all ages. With this book 
in your possession, you can live for a month and hold daily conversation 
with Andrew Murray, F. B. Meyer, A. J. Gordon, Francis E. Clark, D. L. 
Moody, J, R. Miller, and others. They will speak to you from the hours 
of their richest and deepest experience. If you want to draw near to God, 
you can have no better help than the daily message from his word and from 
his servant that this book will bring you. 

The Great Secret* By Rev. Francis E. Clark, D. D. 

Dainty cloth binding. Price, only 30 cents. 

The secret of Health, Beauty, Happiness, Friend-Making, Common 
Sense, and Success are all explained in " The Great Secret." These articles 
attracted wide-spread attention as they appeared in The Golden Rule, and 
were so helpful to many that numerous requests were received for their 
publication in book form. The secret of life and peace and blessedness is 
told in such a charming and convincing way that the reader is swept along 
to the author's own conclusion ; and, as he closes the book, says, " I, too, 
will 'practise the presence of God.'" 

Send all orders with remittance to 

UNITED SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 

Tremont Temple, \55 La Salle St*, 

Boston, Mass* Chicago, Ills* 



Classics of the Quiet Hour* 



Each book, 25 cents. Dainty cloth bindings. 

These books give the choicest thoughts from the best 
works of the foremost devotional writers. The complete 
works of these great authors are too formidable for many 
readers, but Dr. Clark has, with great care, selected their 
best thoughts, and has also written for each volume a bright 
introduction, giving an exceedingly helpful and interesting 
sketch of the author's life and works. 
The Presence of God* By Francis E. Clark, D. D. 

Selections from the devotional works of Bishop Jeremy Taylor. 

Living and Loving* By Francis E. Clark, D. D. 

Selections from the devotional works of Prof. A. Tholuck. 

The Golden Alphabet. By Francis E. Clark, D. D. 

Selections from the works of Master John Tauler. 

The Kingdom Within. By Francis E. Clark, D. D. 

Selections from " Imitation of Christ," by Thomas a Kempis. 



Quaint Thoughts. By Belle M. Brain. Fifty quaint 
selections from an old-time army chaplain, Thomas Fuller. 

A very delightful book with this title has been made up by Miss Brain 
from the writings of that famous old army chaplain, Thomas Fuller. Cole- 
ridge said that, next to Shakespeare, Thomas Fuller excited in him " the 
sense and emulation of the marvellous." 

J* 

UNITED SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 

Chicago 



Boston 
Tremont Temple* 



155 La Salle Street* 



BOOKS 



BY 



REV. FRANCIS E. CLARK, D.D. 



PRICK 



The Presence of God $0.25 

Living and Loving 25 

The Kingdom "Within 25 

The Golden Alphabet 25 

The Great Secret .30 

Young People's Prayer Meetings 75 

Looking Out on Life .75 

A Book for Young Women. 

Danger Signals .75 

A Book for Young Men. 

Mossback Correspondence LOO 

Some Christian Endeavor Saints .... J.00 

Ways and Means • 125 



Sent on receipt of price by 
UNITED SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 



Tremont Temple 
Boston, Mass* 



155 La Salle Street 
Chicago, Ills* 



Our Workers' Library. 

Helpful Books for Christian Workers. 

Bound in Cloth* Only 35 Cts # Each, postpaid* 



SOCIAL EVENINGS. By Amos R. Wells. This is the most 
widely used collection of games and social entertainments ever 
made. No social committee is at all well equipped without a copy. 
Invaluable also for individual use. 

SOCIAIi TO SAVE. By Amos R. Wells. A companion volume 
to " Social Evenings." Everything new and fresh. A mine of 
enjoyment for the society and home circle. 

WEAPONS FOR TEMPERANCE WARFARE. By 

Belle M. Brain. Full of ammunition for temperance meetings. 
Hundreds of facts, illustrations, suggestions, bright programmes, 
quotations, statistics. Everything practical and to the point. No 
more dry temperance meetings. 

FUEL FOR MISSIONARY FIRES. By Belle M. Brain. 
115 pages. A beautiful book, packed full of practical plans for 
missionary committees. Everything tried and proved. It will 
make your missionary meetings the brightest you ever held. It 
will rouse your society to a burning interest in this greatest of all 
great endeavors,— the world for Christ. 

PRAYER- MEETING METHODS. By Amos R.Wells. This 
book contains by far the most comprehensive collection of prayer- 
meeting plans ever made. 

OUR UNIONS. By Amos R. Wells. The only book ever pub- 
lished wholly devoted to Christian Endeavor unions of all 
kinds, their officers, work, and conventions. The convention sug- 
gestions alone are worth the price of the book. 

NEXT STEPS. By Rev. W. F. McCauley. Here is a book for 
every Christian Endeavor worker. It is a storehouse of sugges- 
tions. It deals not with theories, but with practical, workable 
methods. As a statement of Christian Endeavor principles and 
methods, it is unexcelled. If you want to help some earnest work- 
ers, make them a present of this book. 

CITIZENS IN TRAINING. By Amos R. Wells. A complete 
manual of Christian Citizenship, written especially for Christian 
Endeavorers that desire to make their country better. Tells just 
what to do and how to do it. Twelve chapters. Eighty-five sep- 
arate articles and plans. 



ONLY 35 CENTS EACH, POSTPAID. 



Send orders with remittance to 

United Society of Christian Endeavor, 

Tremont Temple, I 155 La Salle Street, 

Boston, Mass. J Chicago, 111. 



MAY; 2 1899 



